An iconic film of such stature that it just had to be included in the festival.
Specs:
2 1/2 hours. Color.
Our family's average rating on a scale from 1 - 10:
We had a definite split of opinion on this film in our family. Two of us rated it in the "9s", and two of us gave it a "6"! Our average was a 7.63.
More about the film and our reaction to it:
This has to be the film with the biggest split of opinion our family has seen in the festival. My younger son and I were blown away -- mesmerized by every bit and dying to see it again in order to figure it out better. Truth is, I'll admit that, though we loved it, we didn't actually understand it. Its just that we were OK with that. For us, it was an all-consuming visual and auditory experience that we couldn't resist. [It is not surprising that he and I are also the family members with the greatest affinity for silent films. This movie is not heavy on plot, action or dialog, but rather, like silent movies, is more about images and introspection.]
On the other hand, while my husband and older son appreciated parts of the film, they could not love it. They were irritated by its lack of sense and only drawn in during certain parts -- like some of the climactic scenes involving Hal and other escapades out in space. We have heard no end of the following dialog: "Open the pod bay doors, Hal." "I'm afraid I can't do that, Dave" in our house since we watched it. There is no question that at times, they were spellbound, but overall, they were frustrated with the ending and the lack of plot.
Aside from the split of opinion, I think we could all agree that it was clearly an effective bringing-to-life of the director's vision and was extraordinarily well-made. For example: I had not seen the film before. We put in the dvd and sat back to watch. About 15 minutes in to it, all of a sudden it dawned on me that, having been made in the 1960s, the ape-men I was seeing were simply extraordinary. They couldn't have been actual non-human primates (and obviously weren't cg), yet they looked and moved so realistically, I could hardly believe I was watching human actors made up as ape-men. Yet that's what they were. I learned later that Kubrick had hired an expert mime to be in charge of the choreography/movements of these scenes and the primitive humans were all played by mimes. Details of care and deep thought come through in every moment of the picture.
Depending on what you and your family value and enjoy, those details and that vision may be enough to blow you all away, or you may be bored out of your minds, or even hate it. So while we aren't going to particularly recommend 2001 for families, I do suggest you consider it!
Iconic Image:
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